Pentagon bets on DIUx for Defense Innovation

A meeting between US Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work with senior leaders like Frank Kendall, Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics and newly appointed Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUx) Director George Duchak, highlighted the Defense Department (DOD)’s ambition to take, make and use the best of dual-use technology between the DOD and Silicon Valley (SV).

The main discussion point has been how such a public-private partnership can participate in “maintaining and expanding” the US military technological superiority. “Innovation in areas such as big data, analytics, autonomy and robotics is going on in SV and we want to tap into it,” Work said. The DIUx – as part of Defense Secretary Ash Carter’s Defense Innovation Initiative (DII) – has now an office in Mountain View, California near SV private companies whose innovations, from robotics to cyberspace, have drawn growing interest from the DOD over the last few years.